The innovative, spring-opened doors – nicknamed “gullwing doors” by Americans, and papillon or “butterfly doors” by the French – were designed to clear the car’s tall, tubular spaceframe.

The 1952 300 SL W 194 Racecar

This is W 194 chassis number two, the oldest SL in existence, on the Unterturkheim test track. Notice the door seams end just below the window, and don’t cut at all into the body sides. Designers considered adding an access step in the lower part of the vehicle flank.

The 1952 300 SL W 194 Racecar

FIA racing regulations didn’t specify which way a car’s door had to open, or how big it had to be. But the original car’s wings, which were more hatches than doors, were changed after a few months, just before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 1952.

The 1953 300 SL W 194 Racecar Prototype

This 300 SL prototype racecar from 1953, chassis number 11, marked the transition from the original 300 SL racecar to the 1954 production model. This prototype was, in fact, never actually raced.

Rudolf Uhlenhaut

While Maxie Hoffman may have had the inspiration to turn the 300 SL racecar into a production sports car, it was engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut who helped make it reality. Uhlenhaut worked with Karl Wilfert and Friedrich Geiger on adapting the W 194 racer into the W 198 road-going coupe. Uhlenhaut works on a 300 SL racecar’s spaceframe chassis in this 1952 photo.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

The first 300 SL production cars were sold in Europe in 1954; Maxie Hoffman delivered his first customer car in March 1955. About 1,100 of the 1,400 gullwing coupes produced made their way to America.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

When they debuted, the doors seemed rather innovative, and even now they look attractive. However, experts agree there’s more to the car than its wings. “It’s definitely unique and different,” says restorer Rudi Koniczek. “But do people buy it just because of the gullwing doors? Not really.”

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

The car’s racing heritage is plenty evident in the production car, and drew thousands of enthusiasts to the coupe. “It was the race car heritage that did it for me,” says Rudi Koniczek. “And how the gullwing was strong, visceral and brutal and at the same elegant and feminine.”

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

According to Rudi Koniczek, the doors – along with the hood and trunk – are precisely fitted but vary car-to-car, because each car was basically handmade.

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL gullwing doors

The high door sills made vehicle ingress and egress difficult, though it became quick and easy with practice. “It was once considered a highly entertaining sport, if you were a gentleman, helping your lady get into the car,” said one source. “It was quite a spectacle, especially if the lady was wearing a skirt.”

The 1970 Mercedes-Benz C 111-II

The 300 SL’s gullwing doors have spawned countless imitators, but until 2010, the only other Mercedes products graced with a pair of wings were a handful of prototypes, like this four-rotor Wankel-engined research car from 1970.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

When Mercedes-Benz decided to develop a “spiritual successor” to the original 300 SL, they handed over the reins to in-house tuner AMG. And it had to have gullwing doors, of course.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

The new doors arc through a full 70 degrees, but contrary to a popular myth, can still open perfectly fine when parked very closely to another car. Neither the original 300 SL nor its imitators had problems with doors clearing adjacent cars.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Engineers reconsidered the gullwing door from every angle when designing the SLSAMG, including safety. If rolled onto its roof, the doors will blow off with controlled pyrotechnics, preventing occupants from being trapped inside.

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

The gullwing doors add a neat touch to what most consider a very worthy successor to the original 300 SL.